A Silent Curse
by PeaceBaby7
Summary: When Julien tries to steal from the baboons, Darla casts yet another curse upon him that leaves him a bit speechless. How will he break it?


**Author's Note:** So, this is kind of a spin-off of the movie, _A Thousand Words_ (starring Eddie Murphy). It's not going to be like the movie with the tree losing its leaves, though. It will be a little different. Hope you enjoy! Please review!

— § —

"Maurice! Where is my smoothie?!" Julien impatiently called from his throne. Maurice rolled his eyes and picked up his pace.

"It'll be done in a minute, your highness. I'm trying to get it to blend evenly," he explained as he watched the fruits in the blender mix into one color.

"Well, be hurrying it up! I'm dying of thirst over here!" Julien called back, holding his throat for dramatic effect. "Actually, Maurice, I would like you to add one more fruit to that mix."

"What'll it be, your highness?" Maurice asked, trying and failing to hide the impatience in his voice.

"I want an orange in there, too," he told him.

"We're fresh out of orange, your majesty," Maurice informed him. Julien sat up in his throne.

"Then go find me some immediately! If I want an orange, then I shall have as many oranges as I desire!" he ordered.

"Right away, your highness," Maurice muttered as he started to leave the habitat to check storage for oranges.

"I'll help!" Mort cried cheerfully as he followed Maurice.

Julien laid back against the arm of his throne and sighed. After about eleven seconds, he was bored out of his mind and sat back up.

"That is it! I cannot take it anymore!" he said as he started to march over to the blender. He stopped short when the baboon habitat across the way grabbed his attention. In their habitat, Alice had given them their feed not too long ago, and a pile of fruit lay next to their tree. However, the baboons were on the opposite side of the habitat, chatting amongst themselves.

"Hm, I wonder if they have any juicy oranges," Julien thought aloud. He considered waiting for Maurice to come back but was gradually growing more and more impatient and decided against it. He wanted an orange for his smoothie, and an orange he was going to have.

Leaping over his habitat's walls and crossing over to the baboons', he quietly peeked over their wall. The baboons were paying no attention to their food at the moment. Throwing himself over the wall, he crept to their tree and hid behind it, grinning at his self-efficiency. After carefully glancing around the tree to ensure that the baboons were still preoccupied, he slowly tiptoed around the tree and looked over the pile of fruit. When he spotted a couple of oranges, he picked them up and prepared to back toward the tree.

"Hey! Thief!"

Julien jerked his head up at the sound of Darla's voice and panicked at the sight of the baboons bounding toward him. He turned and prepared to make a break for it, but tripped on a tree root through his first step. Flipping onto his back, he pushed backwards with his heels as the baboons closed in.

"And just what do you think _you're_ doing?" Darla asked angrily in her thick Southern accent.

"I-I was ju-just—Um," Julien stuttered in response.

"It looks like he's stealing our food!" one of the other baboons said, pointing at the oranges Julien was cradling to his chest. "What, don't have enough food at your own habitat, so you have to steal ours?"

"Well, I was just—"

"We don't tolerate thieves around here!" Darla snapped. "Girls, how should we handle this?" She turned to the other two baboons but was sure to keep Julien in her peripheral vision.

"You don't understand! See, I was just, um, well, I was just wanting a couple of oranges for my smoothie! Gives it a kick, you know?" Julien explained with a nervous laugh.

"I'd like to give something a kick!" Darla shot back, causing Julien to flinch. "Girls, I think I know exactly how we can punish him." The corner of Darla's lips curled up in a devious grin.

"Oh, no! Not my groove! Please do not be taking it away again!" Julien pleaded.

"Actually, I had something else in mind," Darla replied, flicking her head to the left, then to the right. The other two baboons followed her unspoken command and moved to either side of Julien, keeping about five feet distance from him.

"Ready, girls?" Darla asked the baboons. They nodded their response and then started dancing around Julien in a steady circle, singing their backwoods magic tune, similar to the tune of _You Won't Dance When I Put Your Groove In This Jar_.

"_We don't tolerate thievery in these parts! No, we don't tolerate thievery in these pa-arts! Each bad thing you do, your voice you're gonna lose! Yes, it's true, my friend! You'll never steal from us again! 'Cause we don't tolerate thievery in these parts!_ Woo-hah!" Darla sang as the leaves from the tree circled around them and settled around Julien.

Julien cocked an eyebrow.

"Say what, now?" he inquired. What exactly was the curse?

"It means that every time you do something bad, you're gonna lose more and more of your voice until you won't be able to say anything!" Darla explained with a smug smile. "So, you better be good, honey! That'll teach you to clean up your act!"

"You don't scare me!" Julien protested, although his wide eyes and drooping ears said otherwise.

"You know my curse worked last time when I took your groove. What makes you think it isn't going to work this time? Oh yeah, and by the way, don't bother trying to tell anyone about it, neither. If you do, it'll speed up the process," Darla said, sharing a grin with the other baboons.

"Oh, come on! Give me a break! Can't we just—forgive and forget?" Julien asked with a smile that he intended to look innocent but instead came across as frightful and nervous.

"No! Someone needed to teach you a lesson one of these days, and I'm glad I was the one to do it!" Darla shot back with a smile. "Run along, now!"

"Fine! I'll show you! How hard can being good be? I'm good every day!" Julien said as he started to storm off. Although, even he found his own argument laughable.

"Um, excuse me! I don't believe we ever gave you permission to take those oranges!" Darla called after. Julien stopped in his tracks and looked down at the oranges in his paws and turned around.

"And I don't believe you got the memo that I am king! And I am entitled to have whatever I want whenever I—"

Out of nowhere, Julien threw a coughing fit.

"Excuse me," he said hoarsely. When he regained his composure, he cleared his throat and rubbed the tears out of his eyes.

"Care to hand over those oranges, now?" Darla asked calmly with a smug smile stretching across her face. Julien huffed impatiently and underhanded the oranges to them.

"There. Happy?" Julien said before letting out another small cough. Darla chuckled.

"Absolutely splendid," she said conceitedly.

Julien left their habitat without another word.

— § —

When he got back to his habitat, he perched himself back on his throne and crossed his arms. The curse hadn't actually worked, had it? Granted, the baboons' curse worked last time when they took his ability to dance, and he had coughed when he didn't give the oranges back. Had it been a coincidence? Doubtfully.

Maurice returned with Mort about three minutes later with a handful of oranges each.

"Got the oranges, your majesty," Maurice said, returning to the blender.

"I like oranges!" Mort cried happily.

Julien didn't reply as he remained simmering in his throne.

Maurice peeled a couple of oranges and plopped them into the blender. After covering and turning it on, he glanced over to his unusually quiet king.

"Are you all right, your majesty?" he asked fretfully over the whir of the blender.

"I'm fine," Julien huffed irritably. Maurice's brow furrowed.

"You don't sound fine. I was only gone ten minutes. What could possibly have gotten you in a sour mood?" he asked, turning the blender off after it had finished mixing the fruit.

"I . . . I just want my smoothie," Julien replied. "Well, when you're ready to talk, you know where to find me," Maurice said, handing him his smoothie. Julien took a sip and rolled his eyes.

"I wish it were that easy," he muttered.

Maurice gave a curious stare and decided to leave him be. He obviously wasn't in a talking mood, whatever the reason may be. There was, however, a part of him that wanted to hug the source of his silence.

— § —

"Hello, penguins!" Julien called as he dropped down into the penguins' HQ.

"Julien? What are you doing here?" Private asked.

"Oh, I was just dropping by on my four favorite penguins!" Julien answered cheerfully.

Skipper set down the hand of cards he was holding.

"All right. What do you want, Ringtail?" he asked.

"Why, I was just strolling about the zoo and thought, 'Hey, I wonder what my bestest friends are doing!' That means you," Julien answered with a smile, pointing to Skipper. Skipper cocked an eyebrow.

"Why do I get the feeling that I should just kick you out of my HQ right now while everything is still in one piece?" he asked cautiously. Julien laughed half-heartedly.

"Oh, you are poking fun at me! Ha-ha! Just like the good ol' times! Right, buddy?" Julien asked, nudging him.

Skipper slapped his arm away.

"All right, that's it. I want to know what you're _really_ doing here and why," he demanded.

Julien started to scratch the back of his neck.

"Well, you see, I have this friend who seems to be under a curse," he started.

"Bah! Preposterous. Science does not suggest any possibility of magic, including curses," Kowalski broke in.

Julien shook his head. "Oh, no! This curse—it is real! But he can't tell anybody or—"

"If he can't tell anybody, how do you know about it?" Private inquired.

Julien started to respond but became reticent. He hadn't exactly thought this through.

"It is not mattering," he said finally. "The point is, if he tries to tell anyone, then he will—"

Abruptly, he started coughing hoarsely and finally had to clear his throat to compose himself.

"Sorry about that," he said in a half-speaking, half-whispering tone.

Private eyed him curiously.

"Are you all right, then?" he asked worriedly.

"Of course—ahem!" Julien replied with a strong clearing of his throat. "I'm just a bit hoarse. Do not be worrying about me," he croaked.

"Perhaps you need some hot tea! I'll be right back!" Private said eagerly as he left into the other room without waiting for a response.

"Actually,—ahem—I think I'll be going now," Julien said gruffly.

Kowalski furrowed his brow. "But what about—"

Skipper slapped him before he could continue. "Well, I guess we'll be seeing you," he said quickly, giving Kowalski a stare.

Julien gave a reluctant nod and turned toward the hatch, letting his feet carry him back to his own habitat.

"What was that about?" Skipper asked Kowalski once he had left.

"I don't know. He was acting quite strange, all that talk about curses and such. You don't suppose the baboons spooked him again, do you?" Kowalski asked.

"If they did, you'd think he'd come crying to us about it like he did last time," Skipper pointed out.

"That's true. I don't know what to think," Kowalski said with a shrug.

"Here's the tea!" Private said, returning to the room with a tray with a teapot and teacups, steam rising from its brims. "Get it while it's—" He looked around and his face fell as he realized Julien was gone. "—hot. Did I miss something?"

— § —

_Silence is golden,_ Julien thought. _Ha! Whoever came up with that needs to be savagely punished!_

After trudging back to his kingly habitat, Julien found himself alone, pacing back and forth on the far side of his habitat. What was he supposed to do? He couldn't ask anyone for help, nor could he go about his day without coughing up a lung as his voice dissipated. What had the curse said exactly? 'Each bad thing you do, your voice you're gonna lose'? What did he ever do that was 'bad'? He was a good king! Was he not? So, he stole a measly little orange. They had plenty! Those greedies.

"Your majesty?" Maurice called as he strode up to him. "Is something wrong? You've been acting awful strange since this morning. Are you sure there's nothing you need to tell me?" he prodded.

"No! There is nothing wrong!" Julien managed to croak out. "Now, leave me alone! You're so annoy—"

Once again, he broke into a fit of coughs and cleared his throat with a frustrated grunt.

"Just don't worry about it, Maurice, ahem," he continued at just above a whisper. "Just go make yourself a smoothie or something."

"What's wrong with your voice? Are you coming down with something?" Maurice asked, reaching for his forehead, but Julien pushed his arm away.

"Uh, yes, I—"

Another strained cough. Julien then realized he'd forgotten to take into account that lying counted as a 'bad deed.'

"Nevermind," he whispered. "I just want to be alone."

Maurice crossed his arms.

"King Julien, you are never one to hold back on speaking your mind. I want to know what happened that's got you in such a sour mood, and I want to know why your voice is so hoarse. No more games. Just spill," he said firmly.

"Maurice, I just want to be—"

Just then, a thought occurred to him. _Games?_ His face lit up and he smiled.

"How's about a nice little game of charades?" he whispered.

Maurice shook his head in confusion.

"Beg your pardon? Just tell me—"

Without letting him finish, Julien held up one finger and then tapped two fingers on his forearm. Maurice sighed.

"Fine. First word, two syllables," he acknowledged.

Julien thought for a moment, and then he cupped his paw around his ear.

"Sounds like," Maurice responded.

Julien pinched his fingers at his lips, and then he blew into nothing as he held his paws in front of his face, palms inward, simultaneously moving them away from each other as if something was growing larger.

"Um, balloon?"

Julien nodded. Then he started doing a bad imitation of square dancing. Maurice cocked an eyebrow.

"A loon?" he guessed.

Julien slapped his paw to his forehead in frustration.

"Not a loon," Maurice deduced.

After thinking for a moment, Julien perked up with a snap of his fingers. He grabbed Maurice's paw and led him to the tiki bar. After digging through the dishes in the cupboards, he pulled out a cowboy hat and put it on his head.

"Why was that hat in—" Maurice started, but shook his head. "Never mind. And just so you know, 'cowboy' doesn't sound like 'balloon,'" he said.

Julien shook his head and grabbed a jar from the cupboard. Then he started dancing around Maurice. After some thought, Maurice said, "Buffoon?"

Julien threw his head back incredulously. _Buffoon?_ he thought. _Ugh._

Giving up, he grabbed Maurice's head and turned it toward the baboon habitat, pointing with a stern finger.

"Oh, baboon," Maurice said with an understanding nod. "What about them?"

Julien held up two fingers and then tapped one finger on his arm.

"Second word, one syllable," Maurice acknowledged.

Julien once again hopped behind the bar to dig through the cupboards, throwing the hat and jar aside. A second later he pulled a bowl and wooden spoon out and set it on the counter. He then started to stir the empty bowl with one paw while mystically waving the other paw in a circle above it.

"The baboons . . . cooked?" Maurice guessed. Julien shook his head and continued stirring. "Baboons . . . mixed?" Julien shook his head again and stopped stirring, trying to think of something else. He grabbed the jar again and pointed at it.

"The baboons . . . jarred?" Maurice asked. Julien impatiently rolled his eyes and grabbed the hat again, once again dancing around Maurice.

"Oh, the baboons curs—"

Before Maurice got the word out, Julien tripped over his feet as he broke into a fit of wheezing coughs.

"King Julien! Are you all right?" Maurice asked, grabbing his arm and pulling him to his feet. After Julien composed himself, he nodded and made a 'go on' motion. "Oh, so you were saying that the baboons curs—"

Once again, Julien broke into a fit of coughs. As it turned out, it didn't matter in what fashion he told someone about the curse, he would still lose his voice.

He tried to say something to Maurice, but nothing came out, not so much as a whisper. Now infuriated, he began stomping around Maurice, as if he were shouting something, but instead he seemed to be just throwing his arms around with his lips moving, but nothing coming out.

This was just great. Maurice was so close to figuring out what he was trying to tell him.

Maurice impatiently rolled his eyes.

"King Julien, can't you just tell me what's going on? This is getting a bit frustrating," Maurice said.

Julien smacked his palm to his forehead and silently shouted to the sky, 'You're telling me!'

Maurice took him by the arm so he'd face him.

"Just tell me!" he said.

Julien rigidly pointed to his mouth and shrugged. Maurice sighed irritably.

"Really? Now you're giving me the silent treatment? Well, _excuse me_ for not understanding your nonsensical gestures. If you decide you want to tell me, you know where to find me," Maurice said as he turned and left him standing there.

Julien got down on his knees and pleaded for him to come back, but of course, he couldn't hear his motions. After pounding his fist into the ground in defeat, Julien looked over at the baboon habitat, where the baboons were just going about their day as if the events of that morning had not occurred.

_ That's it,_ Julien mouthed to himself. _I will not be made a fool of by these backwoods hilly-billy fancy-prancy . . . stupid-faces!_

With that thought, he angrily marched over to the baboon habitat and planted himself in front of them, tapping his foot.

"Aw, if it isn't the triumphant return. How much of that little ol' voice you got left?" Darla taunted.

Julien just narrowed his eyes at her.

"No voice? Well, that only took you two hours. Oh, you tried to tell on us, didn't you? Tsk, tsk," Darla said. "If you're here to get the curse lifted, you're wasting your time."

Julien pointed at her and started shouting at her voicelessly.

"I'm sorry, what was that? I didn't quite catch it," one of the other baboons said. They all laughed.

"That'll teach you to have more respect for people," Darla said. "Run along, now!"

Julien huffed impatiently. In his anger, he didn't think this through very clearly. Realizing he really was wasting his time, he left their habitat with the sounds of their laughing growing fainter as he went.

When he hopped over their wall, he was surprised to see Maurice standing there.

'Maurice?' he mouthed.

Maurice shook his head in confusion.

"_That's_ what you were trying to tell me earlier? That the baboons cursed you into being good?" he asked.

Julien coughed dryly into his arm.

"And . . . telling people makes it worse," Maurice said with a nod. "I understand. Sorry I got upset with you before. Come on, we're going to need some help," he said, leading him away by the arm.

— § —

"So, you're telling me that the baboons cursed Ringtail—again—and every time he does something bad, he loses more of his voice?" Skipper said doubtfully. To ensure Julien wouldn't throw another coughing fit, Maurice had asked Rico to give him a set of noise-cancelling headphones.

"Yes, that's exactly what happened," Maurice affirmed.

Skipper rolled his eyes. "Are you sure this just isn't in Ringtail's head?" he suggested.

Maurice glanced back to ensure Julien was still wearing the headphones. "Skipper," he said, turning back to him, "I assure you there ain't nothin' goin' on in that head."

Skipper considered. "Good point. Kowalski, analysis," he ordered.

"Analysis?" Kowalski repeated. "Are you really going to make me engage in this—tomfoolery? You know very well that the universe does not allow for the possibility of magic! How many times must I say it?!"

"Kowalski, set your big scientifical ego aside and follow my order. And that's an order!" Skipper said, pointing a stern flipper.

Kowalski sighed impatiently and walked by mumbling something about Skipper's 'scientifical ego' remark. Then he reached for Julien's head and pulled off the headphones.

Julien started to mouth something when he realized that he couldn't say anything and crossed his arms irritably.

"Go on, Julien. I'll have you know that I'm an excellent lip-reader," Kowalski said with a smug smile.

Julien perked up and silently spoke to him. Kowalski nodded and turned to the others.

"He says, and I quote, 'Thank good-y-ness! There has been so much I've been wanting to say! Like how great those noise-cancelling headphones worked. I couldn't even hear myself think!'" Kowalski translated.

Maurice looked at Skipper and gestured at Julien, silently proving his point about his earlier remark about what was going on in Julien's head. Skipper nodded in agreement.

"So, you said that this _curse_," Kowalski said with heavy sarcastic emphasis on the word 'curse,' "deprives Julien of his voice with every bad deed?"

"That's right," Maurice answered as Julien doubled over with a fit of coughs that sounded more and more like a broken garbage disposal.

"Then perhaps it can be counteracted with some good deeds," he suggested.

Julien composed himself and wiped his watery eyes.

'Say what now?' he mouthed to Kowalski, although he wasn't paying attention.

"It's worth a shot," Maurice said.

Julien aggressively tapped on Kowalski's shoulder, grabbing his attention. Once he said what he needed to say, Kowalski translated.

"He said, 'What is this talk about good deeds? I am king! Things are done for me, not the other way around!'"

"Oh, come on, Ringtail," Skipper argued. "As much as I would love your eternal silence, I know I'm not going to hear the end of it—no pun intended—until you get your voice back. Besides, doing some good for others might do you some—you know, good," he finished awkwardly.

Julien sighed unenthusiastically and said something to Kowalski.

"He said, 'Fine, sell my butt to shoes,'" Kowalski said to the others with a curious stare and a shrug.

Maurice rolled his eyes. "Why don't you try again?" he suggested.

Kowalski turned to Julien and read his lips again. "Oh, it's, 'Fine, tell me what to do.' Heh," Kowalski said, scratching his neck awkwardly.

"Right," Skipper said with a grin. "This is going to be interesting."

— § —

"All right, Ringtail. We'll start small. Here's what you're going to do. You're going to go to the chameleons and set these flies free so they can have chow time. All right?" Skipper said.

Kowalski translated Julien's response. "Oh, please. I did this once before when the Sky Spirits were being angry at me. Yeah, we're tight now," he said.

Skipper rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, just get in there and do it so we can move on with our lives?" he said impatiently.

"Okay, okay, I'm going, you—" Kowalski stopped translating as Julien turned and walked into the reptile house. "Well. That wasn't very nice."

Julien slapped on a smile and entered the chameleon habitat. After waving his arms to get their attention, he set the jar down and opened the lid, allowing the flies to go free. The chameleons captured each of them with their tongues. After they'd finished, he grabbed the jar, replaced the lid, and returned to the others.

"Well, say something," Maurice urged.

Julien coughed a couple of times. "Testing," he wheezed. His face lit up. "It is working! Come! Let us do more of the good!" he whispered, preparing to push through them, but Skipper grabbed his arm and pulled him back.

"Actually, Ringtail, getting your voice back is only half the battle. We need to figure out how we're going to get Darla to lift the curse," he said.

"How are we going to go about that, sir?" Private asked.

Skipper thought for a moment. "Kowalski? Options?" he said when he couldn't think of anything.

"Well," Kowalski replied, rubbing his chin, "do you remember how frustrated you got with Julien when he wouldn't stop 'being nice' to you a couple of years ago?" he asked.

Julien crossed his arms. "Frustrated?" he repeated huskily.

Skipper ignored him. "Yeah, why?" he inquired.

"Well, suppose Julien was to finish out his 'good deeds' on the baboons? When they realize he's doing it because good deeds restore his voice, just as bad deeds deplete it, it won't be Julien begging for the curse to be lifted," Kowalski suggested.

Skipper smiled. "I like the way you think, compadre," he said.

"Wait, wait!" Julien whispered. "You're telling me that all of the pillow-fluffing, letting you beat me at the cards, and free hugs 'frustrated' you? That was a lot of work!"

"It was insufferable," Skipper answered flatly without hesitation.

Julien scoffed. "See if I do anything for you again! So unappreciative," he said, turning his back on him.

Skipper rolled his eyes. "Oh, no. However will I live with myself?" he said impassively. "Come on, let's get this over with."

— § —

"Ah, you again," Darla said as Julien entered their habitat with his paws behind his back and a smile on his face. "What is it this time? Be sure to speak up so we can hear you!"

The baboons started laughing.

Julien let the comment slide and held his paws out, revealing the oranges he was holding.

Darla looked at the oranges, then to the girls.

"Aw, look at that. He brought a peace-offering. Sorry, hon. It's not gonna work," she said with a smug smile.

Julien shrugged and set the oranges in their fruit pile. Then he went about their habitat picking up litter and disposing of it in the nearest waste receptacle.

"Lemur, what in Sam Hill are you doin'?" Darla asked as Julien returned to her side.

"Well," Julien said in a raspy voice, "as it turns out, with every bad deed, I lose my voice, and with every good, it returns! Funny how that works out."

Darla's jaw dropped and she turned to the girls, who were just as surprised as she was.

"What, you didn't know about your own curse?" Julien said tauntingly.

"No, I knew. I just didn't think you'd be smart enough to figure it out," Darla replied.

Julien held back a snide remark.

"Oh, well, I had help. And must I say, you look absolutely _fetching_ today," he said sweetly. He then cleared his throat. "Oh, look at that," he said in a less raspy voice. "I'm almost there."

"Well, you do realize getting your voice back doesn't break the curse, right?" Darla said with an evil smirk.

"Oh, I am knowing this," Julien replied. "Which is why I can think of no better peoples to be nice to than you peoples."

"Wait, let me get this straight. You're here to cater to our every need?" Darla said with an amused smile.

"More or less," Julien answered, trying to hide how much of his pride he felt like he was losing over this.

"Well, in that case, you can start by making us some smoothies," Darla said as she and her girls relaxed next to their tree.

"It would be my pleasure," Julien replied before a short cough.

Julien then left the baboon habitat and he made them their smoothies—without the assistance of Maurice, of course. Maurice was the expert smoothie maker. But Julien was not. . . .

Darla and the girls spat out their smoothies.

"These are disgusting!" one of the girls said.

"What did you do to these?!" Darla asked angrily.

"I made them to the best of my ability," Julien answered.

Darla rolled her eyes. "And the sad thing is that I actually think that's the truth," she mumbled. "You know what? On second thought, I really don't need your 'hospitality.' Just beat it."

"Oh, that wasn't very nice," Julien said with faux affliction. "I'll have you know that I'm here to stay forever! As long as I do as much of the nice for you to cancel out the bad, I will always have my voice! So, you're not getting rid of me that easily!"

Darla exchanged a look with the girls. Then she looked back to Julien.

"Oh, I know what you're trying to do," she said, narrowing her eyes. "You think this will get to me? That this is gonna make me lift the curse? Well, I don't break that easily, lemur! You'll have to do better than that!"

"I do plan to do better! I will be the nicest king to ever have lived!" Julien replied happily.

Julien and Darla then caught each other's eye. Darla glared with determination while Julien beamed with certitude.

"Game on, lemur," Darla said to herself. There was no way she was letting him win.

— § —

"That is it! I can't take this anymore!" Darla cried at the top of her lungs.

It had been an hour since Darla and Julien's little face-off. In that time, Julien had ruined the baboons' lunch by making them a 'yummy fruit salad,' had 'accidentally' hurt Darla as he tried to hang a tire swing for them, and had ruined their square-dancing exercises by showing them some 'tips.' But what had finally crossed the line was when Julien had nearly set their habitat on fire when he insisted that it was 'getting a bit chilly' even though it happened to be the middle of Spring.

"Oh, so I slipped up a couple of times, we all make mistakes," Julien said charmingly.

"Don't give me that!" Darla snapped, pinching out a flame on her arm. "The only mistake made here is thinking I could teach you to be a bit more courteous! But that's even more annoying!"

"So you will lift the curse?" Julien asked hopefully.

"Oh, no! You are not going to get to me!" Darla protested.

Julien shrugged and started off toward her tree. "In that case, I think your hat needs a good washing—"

"What?!" Darla exclaimed. "I don't think so! Just go back to whatever rock you crawled out from under!"

"Why would I be going back when you are needing so much of the helping?!" Julien replied. "Looks like somebody needs a hug, come'ere," he said, coming toward her with open arms.

Darla pushed him away with a frustrated grunt. "Fine! Fine! I'll lift the curse! All right?! But only if you promise to stay away from our habitat!" she said in defeat. Then she added, "Under any circumstances!"

Julien raised his right paw and put his left over his heart. "I promise," he said sincerely.

With a final sigh of irritation and defeat, Darla motioned for the girls to get on either side of Julien.

"Curse, disperse," she said as the baboons crossed their arms in an 'X' and then swung them straight off to the side.

"Can you go home, now?" Darla said angrily as she pushed past him. The girls followed.

Julien smiled triumphantly and started to leave, but involuntarily stopped and turned to look back at the baboons, who were letting off steam by their tree. With an agitated sigh, he returned to them.

"What do you want now, lemur?" Darla asked upon noticing him approaching.

"I just wanted to say . . ." Julien said before taking a deep breath. "I'm sorry for stealing the oranges. All right?"

Darla looked at the girls, who were as shocked as she was. She sighed. "All right. Consider us even," she replied.

Julien nodded and left the baboon habitat, returning to the penguin habitat where the penguins and Maurice were waiting for him.

"Did it work?" Private asked.

"Of course it did, Private," Skipper replied. "Do you doubt the power of Ringtail's exasperation?"

"Good point," Private said.

"Ha-ha, very funny," Julien cut in. "Yes, I was successful. And now that my voice is here to stay, you have no idea how much I've been wanting to tell everyone in the past few hours!"

Skipper's eyes widened. "Oh, well, that's great, Julien, but we should actually be—"

Interrupting him, Julien started going on about how great it felt to be able to speak freely again. Skipper looked at Maurice, who rolled his eyes and took Julien's arm, leading him away. He didn't stop speaking all the way back to his own habitat.

Skipper looked to the team.

"Well, that escalated quickly."

— § —

Later, in the lemur habitat, Maurice pulled Julien off to the side as Mort prepared for lights out.

"You know, I know you went back to the baboons to apologize earlier. Kowalski told me he read your lips," he told him.

Julien scoffed. "He was obviously wrong. Do you not know that apologizing is for the weak and wrong? Which I am not," he insisted.

"Well, I think there's a bit of good in you after all," Maurice said, crossing his arms.

"Oh, yeah?" Julien challenged. "Well, feast your eyes on this, then!"

Julien then started marching over to Mort.

"Hey, Mort! How would you like to become a space-o-naut!" he called.

"Yay!" Mort cried in excitement as Julien kicked him out of the habitat.

Maurice sighed.

"I had to open my big mouth."


End file.
